Postcard from London, England: Who lies amongst the trees of Kensal Green?

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A vintage postage stamp featuring an illustration related to Charles Dickens, depicting a scene with children and a caregiver, and text indicating his lifespan (1812/1870) and name.

Above: A field in Kensal Green Cemetery, 2023.

The memories which peaceful country scenes call up, are not of this world, nor of its thoughts and hopes. Their gentle influence may teach us how to weave fresh garlands for the graves of those we loved: may purify our thoughts, and bear down before it old enmity and hatred….”

Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens (1812-1870), 1838

Wandering amongst the quarter-million souls resting amongst the bucolic 72 acres of The General Cemetery of All Souls, Kensal Green, you absorb a sense of peace from the surroundings. Inspired by Pere Lachaise in Paris, the design incorporates multiple broad pathways and lush landscaping. Opened in 1833, this privately run graveyard was once the fashionable spot to be buried – some 650 titled nobles rest there.

Every direction we looked, there were headstones for those of note and those of more humble backgrounds. But all with stories. I longed to read them all, to grasp snippets of the lives they led. Given their age, many of their resting places are unapproachable, dangerously sunken or knocked out of kilter by the roots of the trees that shade them. Taphophile, yes, but I have no desire to plunge down into a grave, forced to embrace its skeletal contents.

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Postcard from Guadalajara, Mexico: No need to gobble tacos on a stoop

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A vintage stamp from Mexico featuring three green bottles labeled 'Tequila' with agave plants, indicating a value of $10 and marked as 'Exportado'.

Above: Open kitchen at Birrieria Las 9 Esquinas

My days of wanting to stand in line to grab a meal at the street-corner taco stand, even when fresh tortillas and tantalizing smells rising from the grill are at their most seductive, are gone. I love street food, but I want to enjoy the experience…. At a table. Preferably with a shaken margarita and a beer or two alongside.

Guadalajara was heaven for me. Great ceviches and tacos in colorful, contemporary, relaxed settings. I have never eaten such a high concentration of tacos in a two-week period as I did there. I promise Lamar and I did not consume all of the food pictured below ourselves. There usually were four at our table, close enough friends and relatives for sharing freely, and we went to several of these spots multiple times.

As I start this alphabetical list to help you in your restaurant decisions, I realize that the first one, with white-shirted, black-aproned servers, is perhaps the most formal of all we frequented. In other words, you need not read any farther if you are seeking romantic white-tableclothed candlelit restaurants, or ones with any table coverings at all. Although two, Birrieria Las 9 Esquinas and Palreal, are recognized in Michelin’s new 2026 Guide.

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Spinning Hollins’ class news from 1898

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A vintage U.S. postage stamp featuring a profile of Susan B. Anthony, with the text 'Suffrage for Women' and a denomination of 3 cents.

Above: “Where Singleness is Bliss ‘T is Folly to be Wives,” Hollins Institute’s The Spinster Yearbook, 1898.

Lamar’s cousin Suzie hurled me down this rabbit hole by sharing some transcriptions of letters exchanged between Lamar’s paternal grandmother, Flora; and one of Flora’s sisters, Emily; about another sister, Jennie. The family letters indicate that the youngest sister, Flora, snagged Jennie’s former Boerne, Texas, beau, Radcliffe Spencer (1881-1965), while Jennie was out of state.

Joining the family by my marriage to Lamar in 1975, I only met one of the Johns sisters – Great Aunt Jennie. And, as Jennie and I both attended Hollins in Roanoke, Virginia, a relative shepherded me over to Great Aunt Jennie. Jennie had fond but faint memories of her pre-1900 time there, as she was at least 95 at the time of our introduction. In the midst of an overwhelming family gathering, my presence proved only confusing for her.

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